A Great Time To Buy Or Sell
Filed under Blog · Tagged: Current Market, Home Prices, Housing Choices, Los Altos
Most look at the Holiday’s as a slow time in the Real Estate market. Historically, that’s been correct. Our minds turn to family and friends, and the many celebrations of the season. However, 2009 is a different market, and now is actually a great time to be in a position to either buy or sell a home.
For sellers, with housing inventory so low, and limited properties coming on the market, your home has the chance to stand out. If you are looking to sell in the next few months, there are three factors that favor quick action: 1) Inventory is at its lowest point of the year; 2) Buyers actively looking, during this time of the year, are seriously interested in purchasing a well-priced home; and 3) Rates are at historic lows, which allows buyers to buy a higher priced home (when rates go up, affordability goes down).
As a seller, if you are looking to potentially sell your home in early spring, feel free to contact us for a list of items you can begin working on, to ready your home for market. Having time to prepare your home, if necessary, allows you to manage the process over months, rather than weeks. We will walk you through our recommendations, and even manage the entire process for you, if you prefer.
For buyers who are actively investigating housing options during this time of the year, you are in a great position to secure a great home for a good price. As we mentioned above, rates are at historic lows. Interest rates began dropping last November, when the Federal Reserve began spending $1.25 trillion to buy up mortgage-backed securities in an effort to lower rates, loosen credit availability and bolster the long-suffering housing market.
This week, average rates for 30-year fixed mortgages had fallen to 4.78, matching a record low set last spring. However, per the conversations we are having with lending institutions, rates will likely increase, probably within the next 12 months to 6.0 or 6.5 percent.
Now is the time to act. Delaying may cost you the opportunity to buy the home of your dreams. There are still ~ 80 homes on the market in Los Altos. Some of those homes have been for sale for a while, and have seen their list price adjusted downward. Others homes have lasted only a few days, or weeks, on the market as they were snapped up quickly as a result of being priced and positioned for today’s market.
As spring rolls around, there will be additional inventory coming on the market. However, you will be competing with a larger pool of buyers for those homes. Over the past few months, we have seen a continued trend of multiple offers for well-priced homes. We fully anticipate that this will be the case next year.
With a strong real estate team in place, a seller or buyer could have a tactical advantage, if they utilize the right tools for today’s market. Carol & I would be happy to sit down with you and share our strategy which is designed to position you for success. If you are looking to move into Los Altos, or simply across town, we are confident that we can help you. Simply contact us today at 650-823-1434 for an appointment.
Los Altos Continues To Thrive
Filed under Blog · Tagged: 269 Langton Ave, Employee Relocation, Home Prices, Housing Choices, Los Altos, Market Trends
It has been another great month in the Los Altos Real Estate market. Last month I commented that in September alone, there were 38% more homes sold this year, than last. Well, the trend continues. In October, Los Altos realized a 39% increase of more homes sold this year, than last.
Of course, one could postulate that the economic uncertainty created a slow market in the fall of 2008. However, it is important to note that there was a decrease of only 14%, year-over-year, in total homes sold in Los Altos, from October 2007 to October 2008. Basically, the local market remained viable, albeit somewhat unsettled.
Today, there are still roughly 85 homes available to buy in all of Los Altos. But remember, there are over 10,700 total homes in the city. So, available inventory remains tight.
Separately, an interesting dynamic is occurring in this tight market: the length of time a home is staying on the market unsold. The average days of all homes currently on market for sale in Los Altos is just over 150 days. That’s 5+ months.
What’s creating this disparity? The key drivers really come down to four factors: 1) realistic pricing of the property; 2) positioning/visibility of the home in today’s market; 3) seller motivation; and 4) effective utilization of available marketing tools to reach today’s buyer.
As a case in point, our current listing at 269 Langton Avenue sold in just 14 days. That’s in stark contrast to the average days on market for those other homes in Los Altos. We put together an effective plan, executed on that plan in partnership with the homeowner, and developed an outreach campaign to attract the maximum number of agents and interested buyers.
For Langton, we had over 300 Real Estate Agents stop by the home on Broker Tour, just two Friday’s ago. This was one of the highest turnouts achieved for the tour that day. Buyer traffic through the property was consistent from the time we hit the market. Just over 200 potential buyers visited the property through open house. Additionally, an average of 2 private showings occurred each day once the home was available.
So, the market is strong, but inventory is low. There are a number of buyers looking to move into Los Altos, but they are strategically examining the available options. With a strong real estate team in place, a seller or buyer could have a tactical advantage, if they utilize the right tools for today’s market.
If you are looking to move into Los Altos, or simply move across town, we are confident that we can help you. Call us today at 650-823-1434. We would love the opportunity to earn your business.
Los Altos Real Estate – Trending Up
Filed under Blog · Tagged: Home Prices, Housing, Inventory, Los Altos
Just like the teams heading to the World Series, the Los Altos market is in full swing. In September alone, there were 38% more homes sold this year, than last. Currently, there are only 86 homes on the market today. With over 10,700 homes in the community, inventory is at its lowest point since February. Locally, only a handful of buyers appear to be sitting on the fence. Buyers are clearly snapping up well priced homes just days after they hit the market. More importantly, we are seeing a continued trend of homes selling with multiple offers.
In June, I wrote that … “we have a good equilibrium occurring, without a clear advantage for either buyers and or sellers in the current overall environment.” This is no longer the case for Los Altos. Sellers, who are realistic in their pricing, find themselves in the driver’s seat, selecting the best offer from a number of buyers.
However, in an adjacent community, buyers have the advantage. At the current pace of homes actually selling in the next community over, it would take 9 months to sell every home on the market. Compare that to Los Altos, where it would only take 3 months to work through the current inventory. My, how times have changed. Just this past April, it would have taken both communities a full year to clear their inventory. While both communities have a great deal in common, the Los Altos market has attracted an ever increasing number of buyers wanting to move into town.
Contrast Los Altos with the roller coaster year real estate has had on a national level. From the doom and gloom of our national news organizations, you would have thought the entire Country had realized a 50% decrease in home values. Clearly, while there were significant impacts across the land, the bottom did not drop out of the Los Altos market.
Of course, it is always important to examine the microclimates of real estate before buying or selling. Even on a regional basis, there are traditionally hazardous areas to avoid. In California, the Central Valley, the LA basin, and many of the outlying suburban areas realized a significant decrease. Just as reported in the national media. However, in northern California, more specifically the San Francisco Bay Area, there were communities which had only nominal impacts. Los Altos was one of them.
Going forward, as the economy continues its rebound and nearby companies begin to once again build upon their current workforce (e.g. Google’s CEO, Eric Schmidt recently announced “We’re hiring again.”), we should see a return to a consistent near-term upward trajectory on housing prices for Los Altos. Our market has fortunately avoided many of the structural challenges facing other communities across the nation.
In reviewing our local housing trends and real estate market indicators, it appears we are picking up speed as we head towards December. Strap in, it is bound to be an interesting ride as we swing into 2010.
Los Altos Real Estate Trends
Filed under Blog · Tagged: Home Prices, Housing Choices, Inflation, Interest Rates
Los Altos has traditionally been a good long-term investment. In terms of trends, the beginning of the 2009 had little activity in home sales compared to the same time last year. The lack of meaningful activity was not attributable to the seasonal winter lull. It was a confluence of events which culminated in a state of shock. Essentially, the housing market was in a deep freeze. As winter morphed into spring, activity clearly increased. However, housing transactions for the first 5 months continue to lag behind 2008.
Currently, with increasing availability of credit, buyers have begun to seek out viable home options. It appears that a clear segment of Los Altos home shoppers are now actively engaged in the hunt for housing. Sellers, who have priced their properties for the current market, are attracting these buyers. In some cases, sellers are again seeing multiple offers. Just last week, one property received 12 offers.
While home prices have modestly drifted downwards, Los Altos continues to draw qualified buyers looking for a good buy in a great community. More importantly, Los Altos continues to hold its own compared to the significant price declines we have seen in other nearby cities. This strength can be directly tied to the value of our local schools, the quality of life of our residents, and the financial stability of the City itself.
Clearly, housing choices abound in Los Altos. As a buyer, you can select from a wide variety of available properties. As a renter, a diverse selection of apartments, condos, townhouses and single family homes become available, from time to time. At the end of the day, while there are a number of homes to buy, the local rental market remains tight. [Note: We'll explore two new developments in a future post.]
Going forward, we anticipate Los Altos home prices will stabilize by September. This is a good thing, as pricing expectations achieve equilibrium. Separately, we see the Federal Government’s recent involvement in the capital markets and the manipulation of interest rates will have negative consequences by the end of 2010. Inflation is expected to return, interest rates will rise and mortgage costs will increase. If you are in a position to do so, we recommend locking in today’s historically low rates.
As I mentioned, Los Altos home has historically been a good long-term investment. As a community, this has also been a great place to raise a family. Now is the time to buy, or sell, in Los Altos. Let us help you successfully navigate the changing real estate landscape.
About Us
Moving into Los Altos? We can help! We have lived in Los Altos for the past 35 years and love helping people buy and sell homes in this great city! We bring experience, knowledge, skills and professionalism to each of our client relationships. Our clients will agree they would not have had the same positive experience, at each step of the way, if they had not had us represent them.
David Casas Cell: 650-823-8920 or Email
(DRE#01116954)
Carol Casas Cell: 650-823-1434 or Email
(DRE#01123855)
